


The Fork on the Left

by Silverscorpio11



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-29 05:36:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12624387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverscorpio11/pseuds/Silverscorpio11
Summary: The girls of team RWBY make a few different choices right after the Fall. Focuses mostly on Weiss/ Ruby.





	1. Prologue

     Weiss let out a sharp gasp as her right knee hit the ground. A thrill of panic raced down her spine as she felt the skin split open. She didn't need the blood oozing from the gash to remind her of what she had known before she had formed the glyphs for Ruby- her aura was dangerously low. She could feel various bruises throbbing under her skin.

     "Ruby needs you!" she reminded herself, and wavered upon standing. Her injuries were inconsequential. She needed to follow behind Ruby. Watch her back.

     Behind her, heavy thuds convinced her to surge forward through the pain and pivot on her good leg while her arm came up in the guard position. A thin smile pulled at the left corner of her mouth. Nobody but her was going to follow her partner up the building.

     "Even complete exhaustion should not be able to stop you from protecting yourself and others," Winter's voice droned in the back of her mind.

     "A reprimand?" she asked herself idly and shifted her grip on Myrtenaster. She was ready to continue fighting, despite any doubts.

     Her eyes narrowed, the monotonous phrase reminding her to take stock of the beasts and area around her. For the most part, the courtyard was clear; the bulk of the grimm had taken to pursuing the fleeing airships. The only living things besides herself were the three Ursa stalking closer, rumbling growls deep in their chests.

     A near sigh of relief slipped through her lips. None of them were majors.

     "No, but you do not have the luxury of drawing this out," Winter's sharp voice was quick to rebuke her. She frowned and gripped and let out a low, "tch!" of annoyance.

      Low growls did not seem as threatening as her older sister's lesson from so long ago. "Was it just a year ago?" she mused thoughtfully, her eyes scanning the Ursa for any sign of weakness.

     But before she could show them (and her sister) that she could handle herself, an agonized scream pierced the air. And Weiss broke the most important lesson Winter had ever taught her: never give the enemy your exposed back.

     Dimly, she could hear her father, disappointed and scornful, "Cannot even stick to the most basic of lessons, Weiss? How unbecoming."

     "RUBY!" tore from her throat before she could stop it. Horrified eyes stared up into the inky blackness surrounding the rooftop. Her heart was no longer beating, but blood thrummed deafeningly against her eardrums.

     She could not move. Could not entertain the notion of being mauled for her lack of attention as behind her, even the grimm had ceased growling and remained frozen in place.

     They all stood motionless. Waiting.

     The moment seemed endless. The roar of silence was all that followed her shout. Even the once distant hum of the airships and shrieks of grimm were absent. She could not shake the hold of 'otherness' that seemed to grip her and the Ursa. Even the berating and commanding voices of her father and sister, respectively, were silent.

     The sky erupted into an inferno of silver.


	2. Aftermath: Weiss

     "Weiss!" rough hands shook her, uncaring of her head lolling graceless and independent of her shoulders being jerked back and forth.

     "She sounds rougher than whatever surface she's mashing my face into," she thought to herself, wondering dazedly when her pillow had become so hard.

     "That does not make sense," Winter's voice chided, "You need to focus."

     She nearly grunted in acknowledgement, too tired to care how unseemly it would be, but another firm shake made her scowl instead. She wanted to go back to sleep. And whoever was bothering her was annoyingly persistent.

     "Weiss! Get. Up." the vaguely familiar voice huffed.

     So, they were impatient as well. A swell of affectionate irritation swelled in her.

     "Weakness," her father whispered, and she pushed his voice to the back. Her head was pounding, and the pain, she reasoned, was how he got through.

     From the way her head throbbed, she had only been asleep for a little while. Probably fell asleep studying again. She could not fathom how Ruby was able stomach sweets this early. The mere thought made her guts roil unpleasantly.

     "Ugh!" the voice, she just now recognized as deeper than Ruby's, grunted. "C'mon! We need to go!" and another firm shake rattled her. Ah, Yang. The brute.

     If it wasn't her partner waking her for breakfast, she did not care. Yang could wake up her up  _after_ she had showered.  Those extra thirty minutes of sleep were precious.

    She tried to roll away, too sleepy to tell Yang off, and groaned in pain.  Her body was excruciatingly sore. That was.....odd. She didn't remember sparring yesterday.

    Before she could ponder this, the rough set of hands were removed from her shoulders.  A second, softer voice began speaking, but weas not addressing her.  She could barely make out the words.  Blake? Telling Yang to leave her to her sleep, hopefully.  The cadence of speech was soothing.

     Blake would be sure to keep her partner from bothering her.  She would have to remember to buy her teammate a week's worth of tuna when she actually got up.

     The lull of voices, a familiar back and forth of whispered conversation, was calming. Arguing, but not angry. The only thing missing was her bunk mate's low, inane mumbling. Weird that she was already awake, but if they had sparred yesterday (which the bone weariness apparently confirmed), then Ruby was more than willing to get up early and snag extra sweets in the cafeteria. And save Weiss, always prickly after an extended sparring session, some blueberry yogurt. 

     Weiss grumble to herself as she shifted.  Food sounded terrible right now with how thoroughly exhausted she was.  And her bed was unusually hard.  But the pounding in her head was quick to make her dismiss the inconvenience.  She could always order a new mattress later.  With her mind made up, she let out a sigh, burrowed her face into her arms.

     Just before she could drift off, she caught words that made her heart kick into over drive, ".....up there......with Ruby......roof...."

     Ruby.......Ruby.....the roof.  Grimm.  Silver fire.

* * *

* * *

 

     RUBY!

     A sharp jolt of panic forced her to halfway sit up.  Her eyes opened to a dark, bleary world barely lit by fuzzy street lamps.  Beside her were two lumpy blurs that had gone silent at her abrupt movement.

     "Ruby," the sound of her voice made her wince.  It was croaky and feeble. As feeble as her arms trying to push herself up.  She growled in frustration as they nearly buckled under her weight.  

     Hands, warm and dexterous, steadied her while a lilting voice whispered, "Weiss? Don't move too quick. You might have a concussion."

     She looked up, and grimaced at the motion.  Velvet's soft brown eyes, crinkled in worry,  peered down at her.  She could see Coco just behind her partner's shoulder; her glasses were cracked and folded into the front of her shirt. 

     "Ruby?" she repeated, as she eased herself onto her knees.  An involuntary hiss left her lips when her scuffed knee pressed into the cool stone.  The wound was still open.  Her aura was still depleted.  

     "We haven't seen her yet," Coco said, a frown putting creases between her eyes. "We ran into Jaune.  He said Pyrrha went after whoever the hell brought the grimm here.  And that the two of you went to find her."

     She couldn't stop the grimace that flitted across her face. "Yes," she agreed, and coughed when the words tickled her dry throat.  "I," she coughed again, and accepted the water flask Velvet passed to her.

     "Sip slowly," she intoned silently, in sync with her older sister's instruction.  She didn't need a lot, and handed it back to Velvet with shaky hands. She staunchly refused to meet the older girls' eyes as she began to stand on wobbly legs. 

     "Used glyphs to get her up there," she shrugged off the faunus's attempt to hold her steady.  "Had grimm come from behind." She looked around and narrowed her eyes at Coco; Myrtenaster was tucked into her belt. "I need my weapon."

     "No," Coco said, just as Velvet replied, "Weiss, you need medical attention."

     "I have to find Ruby," she ground out.  But the two members of CFVY shook their heads.

     Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but a lance of pain made her clutch her head.  Coco and Velvet moved forward, concern on both of their faces. It took several moments for the fuzziness to clear from her head again. And looking at the no-nonsense set of Coco's face made her decide right then she didn't need her sword to climb stairs.

    She abruptly turned from the two, and lurched forward unsteadily.  The world seemed to sway for several minutes before she was able to focus.  She eyed the building with distaste, and nearly staggered to a stop.  One of her heels was broken, and she kicked them off impatiently.  

     "Weiss!" Coco reprimanded, "We are," one of her hands pulled the girl to a stop, "suppose to get you to safety."

     With her heels discarded, she was head and shoulders shorter than the other girl.  This wasn't able to keep her from sneering in her direction and tilted  forward again, fear letting her pry herself from Coco's grip. 

      The resolute set of her shoulders kept Team CFVY from touching her again, but they both were exceedingly verbal; Coco demanding, and Velvet almost pleading.

      Her head hurt.  Their voices had only added to the maelstrom of voices clamoring for attention: her father, cold and pompous; Winter, demanding and monotonous; Coco, firmly telling her she needed a medic; Velvet, insisting she take a moment to gather herself.  

     The last one, the one that was scared and desperate, was the loudest for the first time.  Her own, telling her she  _needed_ to find Ruby.

     Before she could reach the steps, Coco pushed ahead of her and refused to step aside.  "Look, Weiss," she started, "Don't be stupid.  You're  _hurt._ "

     "It doesn't matter!" She tried to push past, but another hand grasped her forearm. She spun her head around to tell Velvet off, but the words caught in her throat. 

     "Weiss," her voice was comforting, "We can go up.  We can find her, and-"

     The sympathy made her snap. "No! Ruby needs me!" She whirled around and shoulder checked Coco, her voice cracking "  _I need-_ "

     "To go to the mainland," Winter's firm voice interrupted smoothly.

     Weiss nearly laughed, but froze.  The voice had come from behind her. "Winter?"

     "Yes. And you are to be escorted to an airship. Now."

     "No!" she shouted, and a rush of satisfaction thundered through her as her sister's eyes widened, startled. She was unyielding, for once, against her sister's demand. "My partner needs me! I am  _not going to leave her!"_

     A shaky, labored breath wracked her body as she made it three steps past Coco. "I-"

     "Am leaving." Winter's voice was directly in her ear; dead, flat.  Both of her gloved hands settled on Weiss's shoulder in a near painful grip.  "Father is on his way."

 

     

     

 

  

     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments on the last chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

     73...74...75...Blake kept count silently, her eyes trained steadily on cool, limp fingers cradled between her hands. 80...81...She had stopped apologizing out loud a while ago.

     Sun and Nora had tried to check her for injuries, but she had refused. (85....86...87...) She was not injured physically.

     She could hear the distant pops and booms of gunfire in the distance. The roars of grimm and hunters (92....93...) alike were drowned by the low, even breathing of her partner laying prone beside her. Her ears twitched at every small sigh and hitch that disrupted the rhythm.

     "Blake?" Sun said lowly. She could feel more than see his hand hovering uncertainly above her arm. "There's an airship coming back. It'll be here in a few minutes." (101...102...103...) the only acknowledgement she gave him was a backwards flick of an ear before it swiveled forward again. She refused to look anywhere but at the hand clasped in hers.

     "I...yeah," he shuffled a few steps away, tail swaying anxiously.

     She could hear Nora and Ren moving (107...108..) closer before they dipped down into her periphial vision. "Should we move-" Ren started, but stopped when Blake's hands reflexively clutched Yang's tighter.

     "No," her tone made Nora mutter a not so silent, "Told ya," as they slowly eased away. "I'll....(112....113...114) move her myself."

     Keeping her gaze steady, she sat up and paused. She was scared to look away from Yang. She was (118...119..120) scared to look directly at her.....at it. A sob nearly choked her when Yang gave a soft whimper. She scooted closer, unmindful of the rubble dragging across her skin. (123....124) Without letting go of her hand completely, Blake hoisted herself to her knees.

     One of her ears flicked back when the loud bang of the airship ramp hitting the ground reverberated through the air. (129...130) The crunch of pebbles underfoot was quiet compared to the sigh her partner gave when she finally had the nerve to released her hand. (135...136...)

      The rustle of clothing sliding against her arms when she gently scooped her into her arms made her pause, bent over and still; the soft sound of her breathing had blended with the whisper of fabric.

     When she could distinctly pick out the sound of her breathing, (135?....135...136) she straightened. Yang's weight in her arms was unnerving. She could hear every nuance of her breathing, (143...144) the heavy thump of her heart against ribcage, the swish of her hair as they moved towards the airship. She could hear nothing but Yang.

* * *

 

     Once aboard the airship, she sat squarely in the middle seat with Yang cradled in her lap. It was slightly unwieldy given her height, but the blonde was nestled firmly against her. The low puff of her breathing was like a constant roar in her ears. (155....156...157) She still could not bring herself to look at the bandaged appendage hanging limply to her side.

     Next to her, Sun sat on the edge of his seat; his left leg bounced restlessly. (164....165...166) The sound of his sneakers against the metal floor made her ears twitch in annoyance.

     Her ears strained against the bow that confined them. She was tempted to rip it off so she could hear Yang more clearly, never mind that she already felt half deaf from the breath against her neck. (171...172...)

     The motion of the ship banking, to avoid grimm or just hitting turbulence, forced her to clutch the taller girl more closely. The whimper that left her lips was like a gunshot to her ears.

     Across the aisle, Ren leaned forward. (177...178) If she had spared him a glance, she would have seen the concern pinched at the corners of his eyes. (192...193)

     She let her eyes slip closed. Her throat worked silently, the whimper prompting her to apologize yet again. She had never meant for this to happen. She couldn't bear to listen to her best friend in pain. (196...)

     Behind closed lids, she could see her clearly.  Bright golden hair.  Mischievous lilac eyes that had habit of narrowing just slightly before she gave one of her terrible puns. She could see the sharp line of muscle, almost feel them pulling her into a bone crushing hug.  And feel her hands pressed against her back gently, comfortingly.  Yang was surprisingly gently despite her boisterousness.

     Unfortunately, the sharp popping in hear ears forced them back open, and she gently shifted Yang. They would be landing soon. (203..204...)

* * *

 

     Once the airship doors had hissed open, (229...230...) the dark haired faunus stood up; she ignored Sun's offer to help carry her.

     Outside the ship, people were milling around in a near frenzy; huntresses barking orders, medics trying to shout over them, civillians looking for loved ones. It made her ears crush against her skull protectively.

     She let Sun walk out ahead of her; he acted as a buffer between the press of bodies (240....241) and the girl in her arms. Ren and Nora made sure no one jostled her from the sides. No one paid them any attention.

     They pushed forward, trying to find a free medic. (248...249) Yang was stable, her heartbeat strong and even. Her aura had kept her from the worst of it, but Blake (262....263) knew she needed to get her somewhere safe before she woke. It would be harder (265...266) if she were to wake before......before she left.

     When they made it about 30 feet from the airship, a booming voice hollering "YANG!" made her friends press against her defensively. She felt a spasm of fear as the noises drowned out the sound of Yang's breathing. She squeezed her partner's body tightly to her, nearly sagging in relief when she could feel the thrum of her heartbeat.

     Before she could react, a tall man had shoved past Sun. All she could see was scruffy blonde hair and blue eyes. Blue eyes as bright and warm as Yang's. But even so, when he reached for the girl in her arms, she stepped back; her lips pulled back in an almost snarl.

     "It's okay," his voice was gentle. He stepped forward cautiously, broad arms held up in a placating manner.  "I'm Taiyang. I'm her father," he reached for her again, and she reluctantly let him ease her from the cradle of her arms.

     "My baby girl," he whispered, and her heart clenched sadly. She had caused this.

     She reached for Yang's hand, felt the cool, pale skin brush hers; skin that was suppose to be warm and vibrant with energy and life.

     Without letting another word pass between them, she melted into the crowd making way for another airship. Tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. She could no longer hear Yang's breathing. Just her own heart, caught and thudding brokenly in her throat. (1....2...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't sleep, so I decided to crank out another one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I do not in any way own RWBY.   
>  Finally got a new computer, decided to write a little bit. Any and all mistakes are my own.


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